An Accountability Secret Proven to Produce RESULTS

Posted on July 13th, 2010 by Keith Ferrazzi

Today, I have a terrific accountability practice to share: The Daily Huddle.

The Daily Huddle is a 20-minute call first thing in the a.m., during which each team member or participant has two minutes to list their biggest accomplishment from the previous day, what they wanted to accomplish that day, and what they needed from the team leader or someone else on the call. There are other versions of the Daily Huddle out there, of course, with different names, but this particular coinage was developed by RMA Participant Peter Osborne, founder of the Consultant Launch Pad, to help manage a team of account executives earlier on in his career.

The secret to making it effective: “Keep it short. Keep it focused. And try to have it at the same time every day – first thing in the AM,” says Peter.

Why it worked so well:

•    Peter could easily track and follow up on his team’s goals
•    Other people on the call often had advice, having dealt with similar problems
•    Having to outline goals in front of others led to more tangible plans that had a real impact on the team's results.

You don’t need to be a manager to institute a Daily Huddle – you can start one today with colleagues or Lifelines. If you’re not harnessing the power of group accountability, you’re putting yourself at a disadvantage. Sharing your goals with others has been proven to dramatically increase the likelihood you’ll achieve them.

Peter’s results probably tell the best story: Among other big wins, he told us, "We surpassed our goals for launching our Affinity Checking product by 200% (endorsements and accounts). All because we spent a little bit of time every day focusing on initiatives that would move the needle.”

For his submission in the RMA contest, Peter won a $100 gift card to one of my favorite organizations, Donorschoose.org, where you can choose a specific school project to support with a donation small or large.

What’s your best accountability tip?

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6 Responses so far | Have Your Say!

  1. Diane Fennig says:
    July 13, 2010 at 4:22 am
    Reply

    I have two gal pals that have become my accountabilty teammates. We usually send a "group" e-mail most every morning with some quick updates, successes, frustrations. This keeps us connected and helps us keep perspective. If we need something, we ask each other for help. It is generous, sincere, and very real. We count on each other's honesty.

  2. Peter Hottenstein says:
    July 13, 2010 at 7:20 am
    Reply

    The daily huddle is identical to the latest software development craze called Agile. Part of Agile development includes what is called a Scrum (taken from rugby) where the team meets for 15 minutes every day and each member states accomplishments from yesterday, tasks for today, and challenges. Thi approach works well for any task oriented - time critical environment.

  3. My best accountability tip is to have regular meetings even for projects that seem to be independent. I am a writer and deadlines are normally internal. So I externalize them by setting up meetings with friends who will read my work and give me feedback. I better have the draft ready for them if we have a meeting scheduled! I have also used this technique for developing my syllabus for a college course I teach. I find if I have a meeting scheduled with another professor to share work then it is easier to stick to my time-line -- plus I get great feedback.

  4. Weekly or bi-weekly calendar invites using Microsoft Outlook for 10 minutes each is a sure way to keep your partners and clients in check.

    In sales, my daily personal goal is to find 1 strong new opportunity each day that requires a follow-up meeting. It may be uncovered at 7:30am or 6:00pm, but I have shared this goal with other sales people and we now send an IM or email each day once we've found our opportunity of the day. Point is, accountability is motivating and doesn't always have to be formal.

  5. For ten minutes almost every morning, a team of twelve that I'm one of, meet to discuss safety and anything else that might be coming at us during the day. It's extremely effective to have all heads together for a short period of time as the face to face seems to work things out quicker than phone or email conversations.

    At first I was not a fan of the morning discussions but after approximately six months of practise, there are still new and revived discussions each day.

  6. Wow! Nice photo..Really inspiring! =)
    I love this post! Thanks for sharing it!

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